In my third and final blog for PRWeek, I talk about the value of thinking of internal communications as a marketing function.
Employees are an asset everyone is trying to maximize. As jobs have evaporated over the last several years, employees find themselves wearing more than one hat. Why shouldn’t one of those hats be marketing?
I believe this concept not only makes business sense, it has a host of additional benefits, including more engaged employees that deliver higher productivity and better customer service.
In summary, HR and marketing directors working together on employee communications can make one plus one equal three. If you have any examples, we’d love to hear them.
Posted in: Business Thoughts, Marketing, Public Relations
Tags: best practices, internal communication, Marketing, Public Relations, ROI
Today’s post in PRWeek discusses a subject that should resonate with everyone, no matter your line of business: Why you should love your clients more than your prospects.
When it comes to growth, new business seems to be king. Getting a new client is perceived as sexier and sometimes more rewarding than ensuring you keep or grow a client. That’s just bad business. Many talk about putting customers first, but few really walk the walk.
Look at your culture and see if your organization really rewards good customer service and organic growth with the same enthusiasm as bringing in a new client. Do the math and see how much each new client costs and how many clients left in the same time period. Watch your bottom line change as you adjust those numbers.
Remember, clients know when they are “second fiddle” and will only tolerate it for so long. When your focus and attention is on your next new relationship rather than your current one, it’s a recipe for divorce. So don’t forget to love the one you’re with. Treat every client like a new client, and everyone will have a happier and more profitable outcome.
Posted in: Business Thoughts, Marketing, Public Relations
Tags: best practices, Business, client management, Marketing, new business, Public Relations
My first PRWeek blog on the extra benefits of winning awards appears today.
rbb Public Relations uses awards as a benchmark to measure our ability to deliver creative, results-driven programs for our clients and serve as educational tool to motivate our staff to explore and achieve.
We think it’s working great for us, and we certainly don’t mind having to add another shelf to the trophy wall in the conference room.
I’d love to see your comments on what you think going after awards has done for your organization.
Posted in: Business Thoughts, Public Relations
Tags: Awards, prweek, Public Relations, Workplace
I was fortunate to be asked to be the guest blogger for the week of January 16 for PRWeek, a dominant industry publication. That meant coming up with three topics that would be somewhat evergreen since they had to be done in advance. But when you can talk about anything, sometimes nothing comes to mind.
So I started to think about topics that inspire and settled upon three words: love, winning (no Charlie Sheen references anymore, please) and ROI. At least one of these words will resonate with almost everyone.
Once I had the subjects down, the blogs just wrote themselves. The result was:
- “Why Winning Awards is More Than Just an Ego Trip” – Discover how award-mania leads to a culture of insight and innovation, as well as trophies.
- “Love the One You’re With” – A discussion about why we should show our current clients the same love we give new prospects.
- “Internal Communications Boosts Marketing ROI” – See why internal communications isn’t just for employees anymore.
I’ll provide some quick insights into each blog as they appear starting on Monday and hope you’ll chime in.
Posted in: Marketing, Public Relations
I’ll start with a disclaimer: Our office has a lot of Gators. There’s no hiding that. But the legend of quarterback Tim Tebow transcends NCAA affiliations and religion. It’s a story of inspiration and the human desire to believe in something greater – whatever that may be. Here’s a good primer on Tebow and his lore in case you haven’t been following.
Walt Disney was a great example of how fantasy and inspired thinking can translate into major brand dollars. Year after year, people endure unbearable heat in never-ending lines to ride the Disney World attractions we’ve been on hundreds of times. At the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, I hear people are paying in excess of $30 at Ollivander’s Wand Shop. Do people think these wands perform real magic? Harry Potter isn’t for babies. These are rational people who have long since learned the difference between fantasy and reality. But we believe – and we buy – because we are human.
Posted in: Marketing, Public Relations
Tags: Branding, brands, football, Marketing, Public Relations, Sports, tim tebow
We all know that social media is constantly evolving, but have you ever stopped to see just how much the landscape has changed?
If you take a look at the big picture, like the Dachis Group did with the infographic below, it’s amazing to see all the progress that’s been made, as well as the ups and downs. Remember Facebook Deals? The initial avalanche of growth with Google+’s rollout? The launch of brand pages on Foursqaure and Twitter? The first YouTube Live video you saw?
To have a better idea of where social media is headed in 2012, let’s take a look back at how it morphed in 2011.
What are your social media predictions for 2012? Let us know in the comments! read more…
Posted in: Uncategorized
Tags: 2012, Facebook, Foursquare, google plus, gowalla, Marketing, Predictions, Public Relations, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, YouTube
In 2011, there was no escaping the prevalence of sports in the news. From Penn State to “Tebow-mania,” 2011 showed that sports headlines can go from the back page to the front page quickly. With 2012 upon us, we thought it’d be helpful to look back at this year in the wide world of sports and pick out a few key learnings for PR pros.
We hope you enjoy our video. Were there any other big PR takeaways from sports that you noticed? Let us know in the comments!
Posted in: Marketing, Public Relations
Tags: 2012, brands, Crisis Communication, Marketing, marketing plan, Public Relations, Social Media, Sports, Trends
On behalf of our entire team, we wish you all a festive holiday season filled with joy, laughter and deliciousness!
To help, we’ve put together our favorite holiday recipes for you, direct from the rbb kitchen.
We’d love to hear about your favorites too, so please feel free to share them on our Facebook wall.
Happy holidays!
Posted in: rbb News
With 2011 almost in the books, many of us have been thinking about 2012 already – for our clients, friends and families. But have you thought about yourself and your resolutions?
As PR pros, we set goals and create action plans for our clients all the time. Why not do the same for yourself?
Here’s your official guide to making 2012 your year as a PR pro:
Posted in: Marketing, Public Relations
Tags: 2012, best practices, Marketing, new year's, pr pro, Public Relations, resolutions, Twitter
There’s been a lot of buzz over Twitter’s recent re-redesign, specifically over the new Facebook-esque brand pages. But what kind of impact will this all actually have for brands and marketers?
One of the biggest complaints about Twitter (from casual users to budding marketers) is that it’s not always clear just how Twitter works. In fact, new media strategist Brian Solis says “how do you use Twitter” is still one of the most common searches on Google. That seems to have been a driving factor in this redesign.
In essence, #newnewtwitter overhauls the way Twitter profiles are organized, both on the web and the official mobile app. It puts more focus on tweeting itself, as well as discovery and multimedia content, which has good potential for brands and marketers.
The real stars of the show (as far as we’re concerned) are the new brand pages. Brands now have large customizable headers at the top of their profiles, the option to pin any tweet at the beginning of their timeline, and the ability to separate out @ replies to prevent certain back-and-forth exchanges from diluting their messages.
The underlying purpose is simple: Twitter wants you to use Twitter.com (or it’s mobile app) to tweet. That makes sense. But is it realistic? According to recent research by Sysomos, 42% of the tweets come from a non-official client like Hootsuite and Tweetdeck. (These platforms often have extra features that official-Twitter lacks, like the ability to schedule tweets.) Twitter may be the fastest growing social network, but the way users actually engage with it appears to be split.
That brings us to this week’s question: Will the new Twitter redesign actually affect how marketers and brands use Twitter? Does the new look make Twitter easier-to-use for campaigns and daily management, or do you prefer third-party clients? Moreover, do you think Twitter’s brand pages will play an important role in social media marketing?
We’d love to know your thoughts in the comments!
Posted in: Marketing, Social Media
Tags: brands, Facebook, redesign, social media marketing, Twitter
Loading ...